Naples started in amazing fashion on Wednesday as strong winds and big waves created menacing racing conditions. The AC45 catamaran yachts, powered by their strong wing sails, were leaping out of the water, launched into the air by the heavy sea state.
Thrills, spills and close racing to open the Naples AC World Series © ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget
“It’s cool, the sailing is pretty awesome, you can’t complain when you’re sailing in conditions like that,” said Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker, who sits at the top of the leaderboard after two fleet races. “But it’s very challenging for the boats and very taxing for the crew. The goal was to get back to the dock in one piece, which we did – it’s nice to be back in good shape.”
Barker and his team clawed back from deep in the fleet in race one to finish in third place. In the second race, they were able to secure a win, putting them on equal points with ORACLE Racing Spithill who also have a 1-3 on their scorecard. Barker’s team gets the nod on the tiebreak by winning the last race.
Team Luna Rossa © ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget
Close behind are two teams who put in an outstanding performance on a challenging day. Team Korea, with young skipper Nathan Outteridge sailing his very first AC World Series regatta posted a 4-2 to sit equal on points with Energy Team, who mirrored their score.
“We couldn’t expect much more than that,” Outteridge said. “The big guns are ahead of us. But we’re overachieving compared with expectations, so we’re very, very happy.”
Not surprisingly in the difficult conditions, there were teams who finished the day less content. Terry Hutchinson was leading his Artemis Racing team to a solid second place in the first race when both bows buried in impressive fashion as he rounded the top mark. The front of the boat kept going down, the wind pushing the wing over, until they capsized.
Strong winds and big waves created menacing racing conditions © ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget
“It was a balance between racing the boat hard and not putting ourselves in a position of risk,” Hutchinson explained. “I don’t really feel like we put ourselves at risk but still we ended up on our side. It’s just very frustrating… Luckily no one’s injured, but the wing is absolutely broken… It’s a real bummer, the boat was so well prepared and sorted for the regatta, and we’ve been going well in training, so all in all a pretty big disappointment.”
China Team too suffered minor damage to its wing and didn’t finish the first race, or start the second. ORACLE Racing Bundock suffered some damage to one of its hulls after flying off a wave and landing hard in race one, which ended their day. But skipper Darren Bundock said he was confident his shore team would have them ready to race for Thursday.
Both Luna Rossa crews, making their AC World Series debut turned in solid, if not spectacular performances to sit mid-fleet after the first day.
Team Korea © ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget
The program for Thursday starts with Match Racing, the pairings determined by today’s results, followed by two Fleet Races and the Fleet Racing Championship continues. The first Match Race start is 1330 CEST.
Provisional Standings after Day One:
1. Emirates Team New Zealand (Skipper: Dean Barker)
2. ORACLE Racing – Spithill (Skipper: James Spithill)
3. Team Korea (Skipper: Nathan Outteridge)
4. Energy Team (Skipper: Yann Guichard)
5. Luna Rossa – Swordfish (Helmsman: Paul Campbell-James)
6. Luna Rossa – Piranha (Helmsman: Chris Draper)
7. ORACLE Racing – Bundock (Skipper: Darren Bundock)
8. Artemis Racing (Skipper: Terry Hutchinson)
9. China Team (Skipper: Fred Le Peutrec)
